Pre-E3 2006: Hitman: Blood Money

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Hands-on, screens, and movies.

By Douglass C. Perry

If you haven't ever played a game in the Hitman series, the experience is much like solving an action puzzle. Some folks would even go so far as to call it "stealth action." I would go so far as to call them all crazy. As the protagonist, Agent 47, a deadly iconic assassin bent on killing for money, you are presented with a multi-path environment in which you must avoid being detected by feisty AI while infiltrating some sort of base or public place, stealthily killing the enemy or target, and escaping. IO Interactive more or less nailed the notion with Hitman 2, and the European developer has been refining it ever since.

Hitman: Blood Money proposes the most changes in the series to date, improvements that take place in both the game proper and in between levels. Don't worry, though. Blood Money is still essentially Hitman, the game you played back with Hitman Codename 47. The first and third-person perspectives are available; you strip enemies of their clothes and impersonate them, you wield garrotes, needles, handguns, shotguns, sniper rifles, and strange random items like kitchen knives and shovels. And the game still has the rather stiff, panhandle movement and camera work. But IO Interactive has worked on everything to improve it: from the rather awkward controls to the trial-and-error gameplay, to quick and improved melee combat, a greater sense of accessibility, and finally, the more comprehensive and engrossing story.

X360 Shot: A cleaner, meaner Agent 47.

IO's iconic killing anti-hero stars in a game with greater graphic effects than any previous game because the team rewrote its code from the ground up. The framerate is speedy, the visuals are impressive, and everything is prettier than in any other previous Hitman game. Instantly noticeable is Agent 47's more defined facial features, clean physique, and everything from his clothes and muscular physique appear far better looking than ever. Add to that excellent lighting techniques and lush, detailed backgrounds, and you've easily got the most impressive looking Hitman ever.

X360: What is that? An emotion from Mr. Stoicism?

A lot of little things aid in creating a more believable game, too. Agent 47 is far more expressive and animated than before. When you bring the camera up close to his face, you'll see his eyes darting around. When he dies, the screen turns red and slows down in time, just like in Contracts, but his face progresses through a range of emotions from fear to pain and anguish to shock.

The near-final we were recently shown is a much more encouraging game than the earlier build we received. This build is practically reviewable, showing way more polish and completeness than the other builds, which makes us far happier. This is the Hitman build we've been waiting for. Plus, it comes intact with all the in-between widgets and features that make this title so distinct. For instance, the game logs all of your actions. If you shot 50 people in level 4, that number will translate into a certain amount of cash deducted from your total paycheck. If you leave bodies around, those require clean-up, so your trail is clean and unambiguous. But it costs the agency money to do so, and you have to pay for it.